


Crisis

by Ruby_slippers



Category: EastEnders (TV)
Genre: Angst, Hurt, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Love, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-20
Updated: 2020-10-16
Packaged: 2021-03-07 01:54:05
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,714
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26009083
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ruby_slippers/pseuds/Ruby_slippers
Summary: “I THOUGHT YOU LOVED ME!”Callum wouldn't cheat? Right?
Relationships: Callum "Halfway" Highway/Ben Mitchell
Comments: 23
Kudos: 81





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Not sure where this is going, if anywhere at all! Bear with me! :-)

“I THOUGHT YOU LOVED ME!” Ben screamed at Callum standing in the middle of the flat.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry” Callum tried to grab at Ben

“No, get away from me” Ben sobbed, “I loved you, loved you so much. How could you do this? How could you? You said you loved me.”

“Ben, I do, I love you, I love you”

“Oh really, that’s why you shagged him?”

“I, I”

“You, you, what? YOU WHAT?”

“I don’t know, I don’t know what happened, I don’t remember”

“So drunk and carried away were you, that you forgot me?”

“No Ben, no, I could never forget you. I love you. Please” Callum put his hands over his eyes, sobbing. “Please Ben, please”

“I’ve never loved anyone like I love you, no one, not even Paul. You lied to me, you made me feel loved, you made me believe you loved me”

“Please Ben” Callum reached for him again “I love you more than anything, you are everything to me, please believe me”

“No” Ben said and walked out, hammering down the stairs, the door slamming behind him.

Callum collapsed onto his knees, as his heart left the building, his relationship with the love his life in tatters.

Ben walked straight to the shop, grabbing 2 bottles of vodka and throwing a bundle of notes down on the counter as he stormed out. Marching straight past Jay “nice to see you too bruv” he headed to the car lot, unlocking the cabin and going straight in. 

Inside he immediately opened up one bottle and began to swig from it furiously, downing the liquid over and over again until the bottle was half empty. After he was breathless he stopped, putting the bottle on his desk and collapsing to the floor, the tears starting to stream down his face, as he lay on the floor.

The cabin door opened. “Ben?”

Ben continued to sob as Jay entered.

“I’ve just seen Callum. I’m so sorry”

The tears continued to flow from Ben and he continued to lie there.

“I don’t get it, he says he doesn’t remember, are you sure that this really happened?”

“Jay, I can’t, I can’t”

“Ben, come here” Jay moved to the floor, scooping Ben up into his arms as Ben continued to sob.

“Ben, I really think you need to talk to him again, something isn’t right here. You know how much he loves you, we all do, it’s ridiculous.”

Ben’s crying started to subside as he struggled to grasp his breath.

“He told me he did it.”

“That’s because he thinks that’s what happened, but I’m not so sure”

“What?” Ben slid out of Jay’s grasp. Eyes red and sore. “What, do you mean?”

“Come on bruv, he’s besotted with you, we all know that. There is no way he would ever cheat. Every time you are near him, you are all he looks at, it’s pretty sickening, and when you aren’t there, you are all he talks about. He is a total mess.”

Ben looked up at Jay.

“To be honest bruv, so are you”

“Cheers” Ben half smiled.

“Come on, let’s go back to the flat, talk it through, if you can stand that is”

“No, I’m not going there.”

“Then he should come here”

“No”

“Well, the things is, um-“

“What?” Ben glared.

“I did this for your own good”

Jay walked towards the door, swiping Ben’s keys off the desk as he did and opened the door to a devastated Callum.

“Come in mate”

Callum stumbled in, as Jay walked out.

“The only way to sort this is to talk” Jay said as he closed the door locking it behind him.

“Ben please” Callum said looking at him cautiously.

“Come on then, you want to talk, then talk” Ben said, slowly getting up and stumbling into his chair.

“Baby, how much have you had?”

“Don’t call me that.” Ben hissed at him “you don’t get to call me that”

“Ben” Callum sighed, rubbing his red eyes “I’m sorry, I don’t remember anything from last night. I just woke up naked and he was there.”

Ben looked like he was going to be sick. “And so was he?”

“Yes, but-“

“But what? Sounds pretty self-explanatory to me” Ben glared. “We had a fight, you stormed off, bumped into that guy you dated, took him home and shagged him to get at me.”

“You know I never dated him, I went out once for 5 minutes with him, when we had split, but I couldn’t stop thinking about you so I left, I don’t know why I would have done it, I can’t believe it”

“Who was top, and who was bottom?”

“What?”

“WHO?”

“I don’t know, I don’t remember”

“Callum, can’t you feel it? You would feel different if it wasn’t me inside you last night”

“Oh”

“Callum, what do you remember?”

“Like I told you, I woke up and he was there”

“No walk me through it, all of it. When you left the Albert”

Callum sniffed, taking a seat on Ben’s desk. “So we had that fight and I was angry, you know I was, and I bumped into him in the gardens. He was just sitting there, staring at me. So I went over to say hi.” Callum took a breath “He said he was upset and somehow he ended up asking me if I fancied having a beer in the Vic”

Callum paused looking at Ben, who was still looking at him intently. “And then what?”

“We went in and had a beer, and then I went to the toilet and then-“

“And then?”

“Then nothing, the next thing I remember is waking up this morning, and you know the rest”

Ben shot up in his seat. “Callum, how can you not remember anything from the pub until this morning?”

“What do you mean?”

“Did you leave your drink with him?”

“I dunno, I suppose so”

“Jesus Callum, he drugged you”

“What? Don’t be daft”

“Yeah he did, we need to go to the police”

“Ben don’t be silly”

Ben moved to standing in front of Callum. Looking deeply at him “you love me right?”

“You know I do”

“You said yourself that you couldn’t believe that you would cheat, and you don’t remember anything?”

Callum sniffed “Well no”

“He drugged you babe”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wasn't sure if this story was going to carry on, but here we go...
> 
> I have no knowledge of police procedures in these situations, so please forgive me for anything that is incorrect.
> 
> BEWARE, this is a difficult read for poor Callum x

The inside of the room in the police station was cold and grey. They had tried their best to make it feel a bit comfortable, nice sofas and cushions, some flowers on the table with the obligatory box of tissues. The walls were decorated with some neutral paintings and the lights were dimmed to a gently softened light.  
Callum was sat on the longer sofa with Ben next to him, their hands interlinked.  
Opposite were 2 police offices, in 2 soft armchairs, both casually dressed and smiling sympathetically.   
A camera on a tripod was set up behind them to record the conversation, pointed directly at Callum.

Callum shifted slightly on the sofa, he felt hot and embarrassed. He didn’t want to do this, he didn’t want to report it, and whilst it went against every instinct Ben had, Ben had insisted that he go to the police. Ben knew that Callum wouldn’t be able to live with the usual kind of Mitchell justice, and no matter what had happened Callum would have enough to deal without a guilty conscience on top of that. So here they were.

The 2 officers had introduced themselves, but in order to keep things easier they had given their first names, Jane and Liam.  
Jane began. “Now Callum, we know that this is difficult, but we really need to ask you about the incident that happened last night. Can you please walk us through everything that you remember?”

Callum looked nervously at Ben.

“Tell them babe” Ben squeezed Callum’s hand.

Callum took a deep breath. “Er, um”

Ben squeezed Callum’s hand again.

“So last night, Ben and I had a fight, it was stupid really” Callum turned to face Ben and smiled softly. “Can’t even remember, what it was about really.” Ben smiled back.  
Callum turned to face the 2 officers again. “Anyway, I stormed out, all hot and bothered, I was pretty furious. So I ended up in the gardens, just sitting on a bench. I was still proper annoyed and he came over.”

“Mr um, Simon Evans?” Liam confirmed looking at his notepad.

“Er yeah, yes.”

“Carry on Callum” Jane smiled.

“So he could see I was upset and asked what was up, I just said nothing really, I didn’t really want to talk about it with him. You see I went on a date with him once.”

“Right, when was that?”

“Er January time. We, um me and Ben, we had a bit of a break, just for a few weeks, and Rainie, that’s my brother’s other half, she set me up with him.” Ben shifted uncomfortably on the sofa.

“It’s ok babe” Ben stoked his thumb over Callum’s hand.

Callum took a deep breath. “So I went along, but I didn’t stay longer than 5 minutes, I didn’t want to be with anyone else, I just want Ben. He, he was nice, could see that I wasn’t over Ben. He said to me that he was going to the loo and if I wanted out I could just leave, so I did and that was it. I didn’t even finish my drink. Then we, sorry me and Ben, got back together.” Ben squeezed his hand again. “And I didn’t think anything of it, or about him again until he appeared yesterday.”

“So” Liam asked “You haven’t seen him at all between then and now?”

“No” Callum said. 

“Then what happened Callum?” Jane asked.

“So we went to the pub, the er the Vic”

“Who suggested that?” Liam asked.

“He did. And then we went in and had a beer, and then I went to the toilet and then-“

“Then what?”

“Then nothing. The next thing I remember is waking up at home, I was naked and he was in bed with me.”

Ben shuddered, Callum looked over at him and Ben smiled. “It’s ok” he whispered.

“I’m sorry Callum, I know this is difficult, but we need to know what happened after that.”

“He, er, he got up and put his clothes on” Callum looked down at the ground. “And then he said thanks, and then he left.” A small tear fell from Callum’s left eye. “And I, just, I felt sick. I mean I love Ben, more than anything.” His voice started to quiver “to wake up with someone else, I just couldn’t believe it. It was like my worst nightmare. I went to the bathroom and got in the shower and I scrubbed myself, I was in there for ages, just crying, knowing, just knowing that I had to tell Ben.” He started to gabble “And I just didn’t know what to say, I didn’t remember anything, I mean I don’t remember anything, but it looked so bad and I didn’t know what else to do and, and, and then I called Ben and he came, and he, he went mental, and my whole world fell apart.” Callum let out a huge sob as tears started to fall. Ben leant over and wrapped his arms around him whispering “it’s ok babe, I got you, I’m here, I love you. It’s ok babe.”

Callum’s tears started to slow and his breathing came under control as Ben let go of him and moved back along the sofa, taking hold of his hand once more.

“Ok Callum, thank you” Jane said. “You have been very brave and you have done the right thing reporting this. The next step is not pleasant I’m afraid, we need to take some blood and do a physical examination, is that alright?”

“Er, yeah. Can, um Ben come with me?”

“Of course” Jane smiled softly.

The police doctor was a kind young guy named Dr Ghumpta, Rash Ghumpta. With Callum now in a gown the blood was taken and before the physical examination needed to take place there were some embarrassing questions to go through. Ben was asked to wait outside.

“I’m sorry Callum, this is going to be quite personal, please be honest, there’s no right or wrong answer ok?” Rash smiled gently.

“Ok, go ahead”

“Here we go. How many sexual partners have you had in the last year?”

“One, my boyfriend Ben.”

“When was the last time that you had intercourse?”

“Yesterday morning.”

“Was there full penetration?”

“Yes”

“Sorry, I know this is awkward but we need to be clear, was that receiving penetration?”

“Er, both.” Callum blushed.

“No right or wrong answers remember.” Rash smiled again. “Ok one more, again I am sorry this is awkward, but we need to understand your general sexual activity, how often per week do you have sexual activity?”

“Um, well, er, every day.”

“Right, thank you. Again I am sorry. We will need to do a quick exam of you, I understand you would like Ben with you for this?”

“Yes please”

“Right, I’ll get him. Could you please lie on the bed and we’ll get this done as quickly as possible.”

The exam was embarrassing and difficult, but throughout Ben continued to hold Callum’s hand and stroke his hair, placing gentle kisses on his head and whispering in his ear how brave he was being, how proud of he was of him and how much he loved him.

Once it was completed the doctor left the room as Ben helped Callum get dressed. Callum looked awful, totally drained and exhausted. Jane and Liam reappeared to let him know that he was free to go home. The next step would be that the police would be talking to Simon, and they would be in touch.

Ben called a cab and they jumped in as soon as it arrived, and took Callum back to the Mitchell home, neither of them wanted to go near the flat, and put him to bed, climbing in next to him and Callum fell into his arms sobbing, and then slowly fell asleep with Ben stroking his arms up and down Callum’s back.

It had been an awful day and Ben felt broken seeing Callum like this has smashed his heart to pieces, he couldn’t believe that this had happened. Where the hell had Simon come from, and why after all these months did he do this to Callum? If the police didn’t deal with this, then he would.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for the lovely comments and kudos, it really is appreciated xx

Ben gently disentangled himself as Callum continued to snore softly. Creeping towards his bedroom door he opened it, looking back quickly to check that Callum remained asleep as he exited the room.  
Downstairs in the kitchen he turned on the kettle as he stared out of the window attempting to calm his rising temper. This was all his fault, if he hadn’t broken up with Callum to protect him from the Keanu debacle then he wouldn’t have met Simon. He loved Callum more than anything, he didn’t want to break up with him then and it hadn’t helped anyway, they couldn’t stay apart and then there had been all of that kidnap drama and Callum had been hurt anyway. They got through that and now this.   
Taking his phone from his pocket Ben pulled up his contacts with his finger floating over one name – Tubbs.  
Tubbs could get this sorted, Tubbs would know the kind of people who would do this for fun, the kinds of people who enjoyed the torture, not just the punishment. That’s what he was looking for, someone who would really make Simon suffer…  
“Hey, you left me?” Callum spoke softly as he entered the room. He still looked pale and tired. “I woke up and you weren’t there” his voice quivered as his bottom lip trembled as he attempted to hold back the tears that wanted to fall.

“No babe, I just came down to put on the kettle, come here” Ben took Callum into his arms wrapping tightly around his middle as Callum sunk into him. “I’m not going anywhere, ever, promise.”   
Ben could feel the dampness of Callum’s tears falling onto his shoulder, as the kettle came to boil and clicked to finish.

“Come on” Ben led Callum into the living room. “Sit down, I’ll make you a nice hot chocolate yeah?” Ben smiled.

“Yeah” Callum smiled weakly back.

Ben returned to the kitchen taking a deep breath to calm himself. He needed to stay calm and gentle for Callum, and let the police do their thing. No matter what though, Simon will pay for this.

Ben returned to the living room with the 2 steaming mugs of hot chocolate. Callum had put on the television and was watching an inoffensive program about DIY. Handing a mug to him Ben sat down on the sofa next to him as Callum snuggled in tight to Ben’s side. 

“I’m so sorry” Callum whispered.

“What?” Ben turned to him. “What for?”

“For all of this, for storming off, for going for a drink with him. You know I wasn’t going to do anything with him don’t you? You know that I would never ever cheat, I don’t want anyone else.”

Ben sat up slowly, placing his mug on the floor he turned to face Callum taking his face in his hands. “Callum, you are the most beautiful man in the world inside and out. None of this is your fault. I know you would never cheat, I know that you love me, and I love you. All of this is his fault, and he will pay for it.” Ben’s eyes glistened as he said the last bit, no matter what Simon will pay for this.

The next day Liam and Jane called by. Callum had wanted to remain at the Mitchell house so Ben had popped to the flat to get him some clothes. Standing in the bedroom he looked at the bed. Those sheets would need to be burnt he thought. Maybe the bed replaced as well, there was no way that he wanted to sleep in it again. He grabbed a bag and filled it with some clothes, stopping in the bathroom to grab Callum’s razor, toothbrush and hair gel, and then swiftly returned home. 

Going into the living room, Liam and Jane took a seat refusing any kind of refreshment.  
Ben took his place next to Callum on the sofa holding his hand.

“So Callum how are you?” 

“Yeah, I’m ok. Ben’s been looking after me.” Callum looked at Ben and smiled.

“Is there an update?” Ben asked directly.

“Yes” Liam said. “We have spoken to Mr Evans.”

“And?” Ben said, as Callum held onto Ben’s hand more tightly.

“He confirmed that he did meet you and that you went for a drink and then returned to your home.”

“Right” Callum said quietly.

“However, he has stated that nothing further happened.”

“What?” Callum looked shocked.

“Yes, he stated that you returned home and then fell asleep with no further contact.”

“Then how come they were naked?” Ben said, trying hard to hold in his anger. Callum had been through all of this trauma, an embarrassing and invasive examination, a police interview and he was claiming that nothing happened. This guy stayed in their bed overnight, naked with his boyfriend, whilst Callum remembers nothing and he claims that nothing happened.

“He has stated that he wasn’t and that he doesn’t know how Callum ended up naked. Instead he claims that they simply talked and fell asleep.”

“What did the doctor say, what did the examination show?” Ben asked, his voice starting to shake.

Jane leant forward in her chair smiling softly at Callum. “I’m afraid the evidence is inconclusive, there was no physical evidence of Mr Evans following your shower, and as a sexually active person any evidence of sexual activity is negligible and we wouldn’t be able to use that as evidence that anything had happened. And your blood tests are clear so there is no evidence that you had anything in your system.”

Silence filled the room.

Liam spoke next “Therefore, I’m afraid that we cannot take any further action. I’m so sorry Callum.”

Callum looked at the ground. 

“You are joking?” Ben said, his temper rising. “What is the point of coming to the police to ask for help? As always you do NOTHING! He drugs my boyfriend, takes him home, does god knows what to him, and you do NOTHING! This is just ridiculous.”

“I’m sorry Ben, but our hands are tied, there just isn’t any evidence.” Jane said softly.

“I think you should leave.” Ben said, his eyes flashing with fury.

“Of course, you have our details if you need anything” Jane said getting up from her chair.

“You have done enough” Ben said opening the living room door and ushering them out.

Slamming the front door Ben returned to the living room and found Callum on the sofa his head in his hands. Ben immediately sat down and wrapped his arms around him.

“It’s ok babe” Ben soothed, one hand running up and down Callum’s arm, another one in his hair. “I’ll deal with this.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apologies for the delay, thank you for reading :-) xx

Callum wanted to go back to work and move on with his life, putting this incident behind him. Ben knew that he was bottling it all up and he was worried. He had spent his life bottling things up and it had never done him any favours, instead things always ended up coming back to haunt him one way or another. But he respected that Callum need to do what he thought was best, so the next day he went back to the parlour.

With Callum at work Ben called Tubbs, he had been dying to call him for days, they needed to meet to discuss how he was going to deal with Simon. There was absolutely no way he was going to get away with this. No one hurt Callum.

Tubbs answered on the 2nd ring. “Ben? What’s up?”

“Need to see you. Arches, 30 minutes”

“Gotcha, see you then”

Ben grabbed his coat, as he reached for his keys Callum fell through the front door. Eyes wide, heavy breathing and tears streaming down his face.   
“Babe, what’s wrong” he walked swiftly towards him, arms outstretched as Callum collapsed into them. “Cal, Cal, babe” Callum continued to sob heavily, his whole body heaving as he sunk to the floor taking Ben with him. They sat there for a while, Ben holding Callum tight as Callum continued to sob into his shoulder, Ben rubbing his hands up and down Callum’s back, whispering in his ear “it’s ok babe, it’s ok, I’ve got you, I love you, it’s ok”

Eventually Callum’s breathing began to slow and his tears stopped, still hugging Ben tight he cleared his throat, “I’m sorry” he whispered.

Ben loosen his grip on Callum, leaning back and looking deeply into his eyes. “Oh babe, quit it. If I never hear you say you are sorry again I’ll be a very happy guy”

Callum chuckled softly. “Ok then, I’m not sorry”

“That’s better!” Ben gently kissed him. “What happened babe?”

“It’s the flat. I got there, and I just felt sick, I don’t even know what happened. Why don’t I remember Ben?”

“He drugged you babe” Ben ran his thumb down Callum’s cheek. “It’s not your fault you don’t remember.” 

Ben’s phone buzzed in his pocket – Tubbs – Where are you?

Shit, he had forgotten about him.

“Do you need to go?” Callum looked up at Ben, glassy eyed from all the tears.

“No babe, I’m going nowhere. Go and get changed and I’ll make us a drink yeah? Let’s snuggle up on the sofa, watch some movies, have a nice day.” Ben leant over and gave Callum a soft kiss as he got up and walked to the kitchen, texting Tubbs back – going to have to wait, something came up. Will come back to you.

Crap, that would have pissed him off, but this was a conversation that needed to be had in person, he didn’t exactly want a paper trail for what he was about to ask. But Callum needed him, Simon could wait. Might be better anyway, catch him off guard, just as he thought everything was ok. He really has no idea who he has messed with.

Callum came back downstairs dressed in some black jogging bottoms and his soft grey hoodie, he already looked better, more relaxed. Walking into the kitchen Ben smiled at him passing him a hot chocolate. As they walked into the living room, and sat down, Ben grabbed the remote, handing it to Callum. “You decide what we watch babe, I don’t mind”

As they settled on the sofa, Callum snuggled up closely to Ben lying on his chest as Ben sat upright, Callum feeling warm and loved.

“I don’t know how to get passed this” Callum admitted.

“One day at a time babe” Ben ran his fingers through Callum’s hair

“But I don’t even know what happened. What if nothing did and I am just overreacting?”

“Cal, you are not overreacting” Ben shifted so that Callum sat up. “He had no right to do this to you. No matter how far it went. What he did was wrong”

Callum sighed “I guess, but I hate feeling like this, I hate being, being”

“What?” Ben looked confused. “Cal, what?”

“Unable to, to, to be with you now.”

“Cal” Ben said taking Callum’s head into his hands. “I love you, and I am always happy with you, whatever we are doing, we don’t need to be in bed, or anywhere else” he smirked.  
“We will get through this together, you and me, we are perfect” he said kissing Callum on the nose softly.

Callum looked down at his hands sadly. “I just feel so dirty all the time”

Ben took Callum’s hand in his. “You aren’t dirty, you are beautiful and wonderful, and everything to me. How about a nice hot relaxing bath? Maybe some time in some bubbles might help.”

“Ok” Callum smiled gently.

“Stay here, I’ll go and get it started” Ben said standing and giving Callum a kiss on the forehead.

As Ben ventured upstairs he felt the tears starting to form in his eyes. His Callum was broken and he felt devastated. However, he needed to put his feelings aside and be there for Callum, to take care of Callum, so he blinked the tears away.

Calling down to Callum a few minutes later, Ben lit some candles as Callum entered the room to see the bath full of soapy bubbles. “Here you go babe” Ben said smiling, “ready for some pampering?”

“Thanks Ben” Callum said. Ben stepped out of the room as Callum got undressed and slipped into the bath, the warm water making him feel good as he settled down, and closed his eyes.  
Ben came back into the room standing and watching Callum with a smile. It was so nice to do something to make him relax. Ben moved over to the bath kneeling on the floor he grabbed a sponge, dipping it into the bath he gently squeezed the excess water out and moved it over to Callum’s arm to gently start washing him. Callum immediately jumped, moving his arm away, looking horrified.

“Oh god, sorry” Ben said, trying desperately not to cry. “I, er, just wanted you to relax”

Callum’s eyes were wide and terrified. 

“I’m sorry” Ben continued “I’ll er, leave you to it” as he stood up and stumbled out of the bathroom, softly closing the door behind him, the tears that he had been holding in started to fall.

Ben went downstairs and sat down at the kitchen table, his head in his hands, he felt horrified, he had scared Callum, that was the last thing that he wanted to do, how was he ever going to help Callum, he hated to see him like this. His gorgeous boyfriend, the love of his life was scared and hurt, and he felt powerless to do anything about it.


End file.
